Henry,

I'm weighing on this again with no disrespect intended. The Chattahoochee was a reasonably reliable vessel and moved pretty much at will up and down the Chattahoochee and Apalachicola Rivers.

The reasons she did not go to sea had nothing to do with her construction or problems. She was blocked from entering Apalachicola Bay by a series of formidable obstructions placed at the Narrows of the Apalachicola River during her construction and trials.

This situation resulted from differing army and navy priorities on the Apalachicola/Chattahoochee system. The navy was interested in getting into the bay and engaging the blockade vessels. The army was strictly interested in blocking the lower river to prevent penetration by Union naval forces.

The massive obstructions were highly effective in achieving their purpose. The Chattahoochee was blocked upstream of them and the Union navy was blocked downstream. They could be bypassed by small vessels, but not larger boats.

The obstructions had such an impact on the flow of the river that it began to shift course during the final months of the war and was flowing in a new channel by the end of 1865.

Had the obstructions not been there, I believe without a doubt that the Chattahoochee would have gone into the bay and, judging from the quality and condition of the Union vessels off Apalachicola, would have given a very good account of itself.

Dale